


colombian narino blend

by perihelion (mattratat)



Series: a coffee a day keeps the murderer at bay [1]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: M/M, Pre-Relationship, coffee and crimes, no spoilers for royal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:53:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25211956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mattratat/pseuds/perihelion
Summary: The sign on the door had said it was closed for the night, but when he had turned the knob, it opened with ease.“He’s busy,” Akira answered coyly, a playful smile twitching on his lips. Akechi felt the urge to smack it off. He wanted to stare at it forever. The conflicting emotions were enough to give him a headache, so he ignored them. “But maybe I forgot to lock the door.”
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Series: a coffee a day keeps the murderer at bay [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1835050
Comments: 10
Kudos: 113





	colombian narino blend

**Author's Note:**

> shoutout to the p5r coffee facts for the title

_Narino coffee has a creamy, viscous body that coats the mouth with fruity and nutty flavors._

* * *

“We’re closed.”

“That’s a pity, I was hoping to have a chat with my favorite barista,” Goro answered, setting his briefcase on the bar and turning his attention to the employee in question. “And your door was unlocked.” 

Under the warm, dim lights of LeBlanc, Akira Kurusu stared back at him, eyes widened slightly at the sight of a clearly unexpected visitor. 

Goro could admit that he’d been expecting that. The sign on the door had said it was closed for the night, but when he had turned the knob, it opened with ease. 

“He’s busy,” Akira answered coyly, a playful smile twitching on his lips. Akechi felt the urge to smack it off. He wanted to stare at it forever. The conflicting emotions were enough to give him a headache, so he ignored them. “But maybe I forgot to lock the door.” 

The playfulness was as irritating as it was amusing. Goro hated him. He loved him. He didn’t think there was much of a difference between the two. 

Behind the counter, Akira was halfway through cleaning a glass, presumably having paused when Goro arrived. The poor lighting of the cafe reflected off his glasses, begging anyone who dared look him in the eyes to look away. 

Goro wanted rip the fake glasses off his face and smash them under his boot; he wanted to rip the limbs from his body, one by one. Maybe he would hang them on his wall and send the skeleton off to a university. Surely someone as _perfect_ as Akira should be a subject of study. 

“It looked rather unlocked to me,” Goro pointed out, smiling, forcing a cheerful airiness into his voice. He made a sweeping motion with his hand. “And surely you aren’t too busy to chat? I have a case I’d like your opinion on.”

Akira pursed his lips, pretending to think about it. Goro imagined he thought he was putting on quite the act, but he was easy to see through. The glint in his eyes sold out his interest, the arch of his thick eyebrow wasn’t quite convincing enough to sell the lie. “All right, but you have to test this new blend I’m trying to get right.” 

“We have a deal,” Goro agreed, taking his seat directly across the bar from Akira. 

“So tell me about the case.”

It didn’t take any more prompting than that for Goro to launch into his explanation of it while Akira brewed a fresh pot of coffee. Most of the time, Goro’s cases were complete bullshit, considering the culprit was usually someone he had made berserk in Mementos. Occasionally, he was assigned one that didn’t fit the bill, like this one. But that wasn’t much of an issue; he was more than capable. 

A dead director, his wife, and a model whose alibi didn't quite hold up. The press would have a field day with such a case, when the prosecutor's office finally released it from their claws and let them catch wind of it. 

“You think Mika did it?” Akira interrupted, nearly two-thirds of the way through Goro’s explanation. 

Goro’s mouth curled into a satisfied grin. He hadn’t gotten there yet, but Akira was smart enough to piece it together himself. It was one of the many things he both liked and despised about them. He was nearly as smart as Goro, able to put the clues in place without too much hand holding from Goro. It was a welcome change from all the morons he worked with.

He tapped his fingers on the bar, resting his chin in his hands. “ _I_ don’t know. What do _you_ think?” 

“She did it,” Akira answered. 

He narrowed his eyes. He was right, of course. “Why?” 

Akira hummed, cleaning a dish as he spoke, “She had the motive and the means. Who was her alibi?” 

“A friend,” Goro answered, the details escaping him. 

“So they’re covering for her.” Akira sat the cup down, his gaze meeting Goro’s, unflinching. “But I don’t think you should arrest her.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Goro grinned. He could feel it pulling at his skin, sharper and more wolf-like than he usually allowed himself in this world, but he knew Akira would blame it on a trick of the light. 

Mika had killed the people who had abused her for years. She poisoned them and left the bodies to decay in their multimillion dollar apartment, a merciless and fitting end for such terrible people. Goro admired her far too much to ever bring her to trial for it. 

“I imagine the case will go unsolved,” he said, sighing. “My perfect record tarnished.” 

“And your justice intact,” Akira pointed out, his tone mimicking Goro’s sigh. 

“Yes,” he mused. “I think it will be.”

Akira poured more coffee into his cup, topping it off. Goro had barely drunk any and didn’t particularly want more, but still he took a sip, knuckles white as he gripped the mug handle. The coffee was sweet, with an almost fruity flavor that was at least palatable. He smiled, forcing his expression to be as pleasant as a spring morning. 

His public persona made him sick, but it was worse around Akira. The churning of Goro’s stomach seemed sharper, the lie heavier on his tongue. He wanted to drag him kicking and screaming down to Mementos, to show him the real person behind his stupid, _pleasant_ mask. 

In all ways but literal, Akira had crawled under his skin. Goro wanted to claw his own face off until he stopped feeling claustrophobic in his own body, to rip the thoughts from his mind, to dig a grave and bury every memory since the day they met. He wanted to leave Akira’s perfect, beautiful corpse in the depths, his disappearance nothing more than a note on the morning paper. 

Of course, it wouldn’t be that simple. Akira would be mourned. His friends would cry so many fat, useless tears. He’d rather like to see that. 

_Patience,_ Loki whispered in his mind. 

“Is this a Colombian blend?” He asked, taking another sip. Fuck, it was strong. He wasn’t going to sleep tonight. 

Akira shrugged. “I think so.”

“It’s good,” Goro told him, watching carefully as a light red dusted Akira’s pale cheeks. It was cute, how proud he was of the coffee. It almost made it worth drinking. He preferred Akira’s company in moments like these, when he actually seemed alive. When he wasn’t trying to blend into the crowd, quiet and hidden behind fake glasses. He couldn’t stand that version of him, it made his skin crawl. How dare Akira, who was so vibrant and adored, pretend to be anything but? It was nothing short of pathetic. 

No, he preferred Akira when he was fully in the moment, bristling with life. 

The irony of it was not lost on him. 

They lulled into a silence as Goro sipped at the coffee and Akira cleaned the bar. He thought about pulling his case file out and getting some paperwork organized (it didn’t seem like he’d be gearing up for a prosecution, after all, which was an entire headache in itself), but the sun had long since lowered in the sky. If he didn’t want to miss the last train, he couldn’t linger for much longer. 

Morgana had jumped onto the seat next to his while they were talking, so Goro reached out to pet him aimlessly, enjoying listening to the pathetic protests the cat made. 

“Tell him to stop that! I’m not a cat! He can’t just pet me!” He yowled. Goro pretended he couldn’t understand him, like he’d been doing for months now. 

Akira tsked at the creature, who finally jumped down from the stool, making for the stairs with an air of annoyance about him, with so much attitude that any passerby might think that Goro had personally kicked him across the room. 

“He’s noisy tonight,” Goro commented. If he wasn’t so fond of its cat form, he’d ring the creature’s neck. Maybe he would when they finally met in the Metaverse. 

“He’s mad that I’m up past my bedtime,” Akira lied. He wasn’t even that good of a liar; Goro could have spotted it a mile away even if he didn’t know what the cat had been saying. His right eye twitched when he lied; his glasses weren’t thick enough to hide it. “I’ll tell him he should take his concerns to you next time.” 

“Tell him to bite me,” Goro yawned. 

Akira laughed, a soft, beautiful sound that grated on his nerves like nails on a chalkboard. “I’ll pass the message along.” 

“In that case,” he said, standing and brushing nonexistent dust from his coat, “I should let you get to bed.” 

Akira almost looked disappointed, pouting. “You’re just playing into his hands.” 

“But the cafe is closed, and I would hate for the staff to resent me,” Goro answered, already half way out the door. 

**“** Hey,” Akira called, just as he was opening the door. 

Goro turned to look over his shoulder at him, an eyebrow raised. “Yes?” 

“Come back tomorrow night,” Akira said, more of a demand than a request. 

Goro blinked, held up by surprise for only a moment before he nodded. “Of course.” 

The night air chilled him as he stepped outside and for a moment, he wished that it was already tomorrow. 

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!!!!!
> 
> please leave a kudos and comment if u enjoyed!! it means a lot me!!! and feel free to come yell abt shuake w me on twitter, @vanitashours!!
> 
> have a great day!!<3


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